The Chosen by Jeremy Laszlo Read Free Book Online

to sort the scrolls and books into piles as they had done only a few days before. The room smelled musty from disuse, however it was obviously recently cleaned. Working quickly and meticulously they started with the scrolls, and having them finished in short order, moved on to the smaller of the books. They read late into the night, sharing between books what information they had gleaned from the writings. When both of them struggled to keep their eyes open, they decided to take a break and get some sleep.
    As they rose to their feet, Sara stepped into Seth’s open arms. They stood for many moments, locked in one another’s embrace, before Sara finally released Seth and turned to leave the room. She strode across the hall swaying her hips. Pausing at her door she turned and smiled back at the man she loved. He was staring at her just as she anticipated. Seth blushed slightly having been caught looking at her backside. They wished each other a good night and Sara slowly entered her room, closing the door behind her. Seth waited until he heard her door lock, and then closed and locked his as well. He quickly undressed, and passing his hand over the enchanted candle beside his bed, was blanketed in welcome darkness. Before his head hit the pillow he was fast asleep, the troubles of the world temporarily lost from his mind.
     
     
     
     

Chapter 2
    Progress and a Proposal
     
     
    Three weeks had passed since The Choosing ceremony and for Garret and Zorbin those first three weeks were grueling. The first couple of days had not been too terrible as they were filled with prayer and reading. They had read everything from the histories of the kingdom and of the gods, to war strategies and tomes about surviving in the wild. They read and read nearly twenty hours a day until both Garret and the dwarf thought their heads would explode from all the information.
    However, that was the easy part. After their reading list was finished they started what Sirus had called stamina training. Sirus promised them that by the time he was done with them, they would be able to fight for days without sleep upon a battlefield. They started stamina training by running around the perimeter of the castle walls with a cart full of logs strapped across their chests, like a mule at harvest, trailing the cart behind them. Not wanting him to get lazy or complacent, Zorbin decided Xanth should join in on the fun and so the wolf got a cart of his own. They pulled the carts until they could no longer walk. When they fell to their knees Sirus told them that it would be a good time to pray. Having said their prayers, they would arise again and continue. When the carts became bearable Sirus presented them with armor. At first they both thanked him for the glorious gift, until they found out that now they would be running and pulling the carts dressed in full armor. This, Sirus explained, was not only to break their armor in, but get them used to its weight and feel as well.
    It was not long before both Garret and Zorbin hated their armor. Xanth was already accustomed to running in his and so made it look effortless, much to the annoyance of his two-legged companions. When the carts and the armor no longer slowed them down and they could run for hours and hours with them, Sirus told them they were ready for their next task. It of course was less enjoyable than the previous one, consisting of strapping a wooden barrel filled partially with water to their backs and having them run up and down the dozen flights of steep stone steps of the castle wall. They climbed up and down day and night until they could go no longer. As they grew accustomed to the weight, Sirus simply added more water to the barrels. It made for a very long, very painful three weeks. Each night ended with a visit from a young healer named Daniella. She was a pretty young woman with flowing brown curls and green eyes. She would greet them both each night and then, with the blessing of her goddess,